The Panda Press
Highland Park Elementary Newsletter: May 2015 Edition
In This Issue
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Fantastic Field Day!
Upcoming Events
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A Wonderful Year!

We have had an exciting year of learning at Highland Park!
Let’s be sure the learning doesn’t stop during the summer
weeks.
Fun, educational activities might include:
- Trips to the public library or mobile library
- Trips to museums
- Nature walks through the gorgeous parks that surround
Monroe County
- Make grocery trips a learning time – depending on age
Spring
has
Sprung
atwith
Highland
Park!
you can
have
kids help
lists, budget,
finding items on
the list, count them, identify colors, utilize coupons, read
nutrition labels…
- When it is screen time, be sure to check
out…familyed.com; pbskids.org; randomhousekids.com;
abcya.com; seussville.com; starfall.com; timeforkids.com;
scholasticnews.com; CNN Student News.
- Travel games in the car: Find signs that spell out each
letter of your name; How many different license plate
states can you find?; Find signs in order of the alphabet.
- Find lots of time for play/exercise!
HAVE A GREAT SUMMER!! 

Highland Park Elementary School
www.mccsc.edu/highlandpark
A Wonderful Year
Our i-TEAM
See you in August!
Stay Connected
@HP_Pandas
5/28: Kindergarten
Celebration 11:00AM
5/28: Last Day of School
for Students!
7/31: Ice Cream Social
3:00PM
8/03: First Day of School!
Highland Park is a
2014 IDOE
“B” School!
(812) 825-7673
Our I-Team!
Meet 5th grade homeroom teachers: Jenny Torbenson and Elli Sparks (previously introduced in our “meet the
new staff” newsletter”), and 4th grade homeroom teachers: Cameron York and Jennifer Szabat.
Meet 6th grade homeroom teachers: Jessica Ryan and Juli Olsson, and Title 1 teacher: Claire Clayton.
Jessica Ryan
Juli Olsson
Hello! My name is Juli Olsson, and I'm a 6th
grade teacher here at HP. I've lived my
whole life in Monroe County growing up in
Ellettsville, Indiana. I attended Indiana
University for my undergrad in elementary
education and Indiana Wesleyan for my
masters. Highland Park has been my school
home for 19 years now. When my two
children were of elementary age they
attended Highland Park right along with me.
They are now in college beginning their own
lives, and I am beginning to experience the
empty nest phase.
My favorite things in life are spending time
with my husband and kids (any chance I
get) and traveling to new places. I also love
reading, trying out new recipes, learning
about history, and having great
conversations with my 6th graders. It's great
to be a Panda!
Office Hours
“A day without laughter is a day wasted.” Charlie
Chaplin said that, and I live it. I worked, against the odds, to
be exactly where I am today. It was very important to my
mom that my sister and I find a profession that made us feel
useful and that we enjoyed. I am one of the lucky people
who loves going to work every day.
I fell in love with Highland Park immediately. It was
truly love at first sight. I have had the privilege of working in
this building since 1998 (my children think that’s a very long
time since it was in the 1900s). I was able to student teach
here and I have been here ever since. How lucky am I?!? I
started off working as an inclusion teacher for students in
kindergarten through third grade. Then I moved to second
grade. So the first ten years of my career were spent in third
grade and below. I moved to sixth about five years ago, and
I fell in love with teaching all over again.
I am also the lucky mother of three hilarious kids.
Olivia is eleven and loves to read and play the violin and
piano. Sadie is nine and she likes to make people smile and
play her ukulele. She also has a fascination with the Statue
of Liberty. Asa is seven and a little charmer who plays the
drums. He is also a little bit mischievous, but he gives great
hugs. We have the best dog ever named Shep. He is a dog
we adopted from the shelter so we’re not exactly sure how
old he is. He loves to fetch sticks and go for rides in the car.
I love to talk about all the great things happening on
the intermediate team, so when you’re in my neck of the
woods stop in so I can show off the great things my students
can do.
Please note that the Highland Park office is open Monday-Friday from 8:00-4:15 p.m. If you have a
transportation concern after 4:15 p.m., you will need to contact the transportation department. You may
reach them at 330-7719. You can often reach Mrs. Dainton and Mrs. Quigley outside of the office hours,
noted above. Simply call their extensions or send an email.
Highland Park Elementary School
www.mccsc.edu/highlandpark
@HP_Pandas
(812)825-7673
Jenny Torbenson
Cameron York
My name is Jenny Torbenson. I am
currently in my 4th year teaching at
Highland Park. This year I have had
the pleasure of working with the 5th
grade most of the day, but I also get
to spend time with 4th grade
teaching math. Prior to joining the
Highland Park staff, I taught
preschool for 10 years. I am not only
a teacher, but a wife and mother
too. My husband, Jeff and I have
three wonderful kids. Our daughter
Megan is studying business at
IU. Our son Andrew attends North
High School, and our youngest son
Joe is currently at Batchelor Middle
School. All three of our kids grew up
attending Highland Park and have
many fond memories. We are a
Highland Park family and take pride
in this school!
My name is Cameron York, and I have been a
Highland Park Panda for seven years. I absolutely
love teaching and learning. I have a wonderful wife,
Jayne, and two awesome kids, Miles and Georgia.
We are very busy with their activities, but in my free
time, I enjoy skateboarding, riding motorcycles, and
creaking.
PTO and
Jennifer Szabat
My name is Jennifer Szabat. I
am a 4th grade and Special
Education teacher here at
Highland Park. I love
hydrangeas, butterflies, and
the color pink. A couple of
interesting facts about me, I
attended 6 different
elementary schools, as a result
of my father being in the
Navy. I have performed in 5
different musicals. My
favorites were Guys and Dolls
and Annie.
Highland Park Elementary School
Y
ou
Claire Clayton
Mrs. Clayton hails from The Friendly Village,
Mamaroneck, New York. Go Tigers! She's proud of
her Irish heritage and enjoys dual citizenship. Mrs.
Clayton has two grown daughters who attended
Bloomington High School South. Have Pride in
Yourself and the Panthers. She has been working in
the MCCSC in some capacity since 1997. Along with
her love of teaching, Mrs. Clayton plays the Irish, tworow button accordion, and studies the Irish
language, Gaeilge. The students at Highland Park
know that Mrs. Clayton has a strange fascination with
PEZ and The Wizard of Oz. There's No Place Like
Home!
www.mccsc.edu/highlandpark
@HP_Pandas
(812)825-7673
Highland Park Pandas are:
 Responsible
 Respectful
 Safe
See You in August!
Class lists will be posted on Thursday, July 30th at 5:00!
Friday, July31:
Meet your teacher – Grades 1-6: 2:00PM
Kindergarten Parent Meeting: 2:00PM
Ice Cream Social: 3:00PM
First Day of School: Monday, August 3rd!
Monroe County Community
Schools
on Twitter
at Highland Park Elementary School
@MCCSC_EDU
@HP_Pandas
@HPpandas
You can view important documents (including this newsletter), and
upcoming events on the Highland Park Website. The site is
updated regularly and can serve as an important resource for your
family.
Highland Park Elementary School
www.mccsc.edu/highlandpark
@HP_Pandas
(812)825-7673